Cassette Tape Hand Winder V2

Hand winders for Compact Audio Cassettes were once cheap and available. Today they are hard to find, expensive and often have to be imported from abroad incurring additional cost. This project makes cassette winders available to anyone with a 3D-printer and some crafting skills. This is quite an advanced project, some of the printing tolerances are quite tight.

The winder can be used to examine, loosen, clean and lubricate old tape. Or just for winding tape while another is playing. The turns ratio is just over 1:12 -approximately 96 turns for a C90.

This ‘thing’ is the second version of the winder, an evolution of the original tape winder. This version uses a rubber belt to cushion any uneavenness during winding and to limit the torque so that it’s less likely to damage the tape when winding reaches the end. It is also quieter because a one-way clutch is used instead of a pawl to prevent winding in reverse. Version 1 remains published because it is simpler to build and without any torque limiting, it can be used to shift tape that has become stuck due to a lack of lubrication or perhaps too much lubrication.

This project uses 6, 4x8x3mm miniature ball bearings (MR84-ZZ) and one 3x8x3 bearing for the knob. Also required are 14, No.4 x 1/2″ (3x12mm) self-tapping screws.